Garnet January Birthstone

Since our very early days in the trade, we realized that the garnet family, the gemstone of the month of January, is one of the most exciting groups of gems in existence. It has an amazing range of colors and span of values.

I remember the first red garnets, which I encountered in Zambia. They were probably almandine or pyrope. Some of them were so beautiful, ruby-like that I really wondered how they could be so cheap!

And then I came across garnets of practically all colors of the spectrum: from red to purple, violet, orange yellow and green.

This family of gems has the widest range of prices possible!

From just a few dollars per carat for the almandine and pyrope, which increases as they get lighter or mixed with orange etc., to fairly expensive orange spessartite, which sparkle like diamond.

And then comes tsavorite - a beautiful green garnet - which started with very humble prices in the nineteen sixties to a staggering peak in recent years.

And what about demantoid garnet? One of the rarest most valuable of garnets?

In fact, my personal garnet story starts with a tourmaline!

In 1973, when I was studying gemology for my FGA diploma, I would wander around Petticoat Lane flee market in London, amongst the piles of jewelry garbage, looking for gem samples for my personal collection. I purchased for 20 pounds what I was told was a green old cut tourmaline of over 5 carats.

And then Michael O’Donoghue, our momentous teacher, taught us about Demantoid and its ‘’Horse tail inclusions’’. I suddenly remembered that my newly purchased tourmaline also had ’Horse tail inclusions’’. I told Michael and he told me to bring my horse tail to class! To cut a long story short, my tourmaline ended up to be demantoid, which I sold for a few thousand pounds, which was more than 6 months wages!!!

I have suddenly realized that there are no blue garnets!!

Menahem Sevdermish, F.G.A, President